History Hit's Historic Photographer of the Year competition 2022 has today announced its winning images! In partnership with Historic England, the competition called upon photographers to submit images that feature the very best historical places all over the world, receiving over 1,200 entries this year.
There are two main categories of the competition, Historic England, which celebrates England’s heritage, and the second is the World History category, intended to recognize sensational photographs captured of historic sites from all around the world.
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Taking the title of the 2022 overall winner of the Historic Photographer of the Year competition is Photographer Steve Liddiard, from Swansea, with his amazing photograph of a wool mill situated in the Welsh countryside. The mill has supposedly been abandoned for over 60 years, combining welsh industrial history with the vibrant color of the wool that has withstood the test of time.
The judging panel comprised BAFTA award-winning historian and television presenter, Dan Snow, who is also the founder and Creative Director of History Hit. Joining him on the panel was Fiona Shields, who was previously the picture editor of the Guardian for ten years, before becoming the Head of Photography for the Guardian News and Media Group.
The other half of the panel includes Philip Mowbray, the Editor of Picfair's online knowledge hub called Focus, with previous roles including time spent at a specialist historical picture library, along with Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regions at Historic England, and finally Executive Editor for History at Little Dot Studios, Rich Payne.
The judges had clear criteria in mind during the three-week judging period, searching for images that had originality, excellent composition, and technical proficiency alongside the historic and impactful story behind the image.
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Photographer Sam Binding, from Bristol, is the winner for a second consecutive year of the Historic England category, with his euphoric image of the Glastonbury Tor, which he captured at sunrise in combination with the mist to create an ethereal scene.
Dan Snow said of Binding's image, "I'm a believer in getting up and out in the cold and dark to get the perfect show, and this photographer has done exactly that. There are millions of pictures of the Tor every year but only one like this."
The World History category crown was awarded to photographer Luke Stackpoole, from Churt, a village in Surrey, England, and his winning image of the Fenghuang Ancient Town in China. Fenghuang was built in 1704 and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
Philip Mowbray shared that: "The most striking elements are the stilts and their reflections which are amplified by the photographer using portrait orientation for the shot. Also, the way the photographer has captured both people and lit-up interiors show the structures are still part of people's everyday lives”.
The winners of the competition this year will see their work showcased on the official Historic Photographer of the Year 2022 website, and the overall winner, Steve Liddiard, will in addition receive a cash prize of £250, while the two category winners will receive a cash prize of £50. The Historic England category winner will also receive up to £100 worth of books that have been selected from the Historic England imprint.
To see the full gallery of shortlisted images, be sure to visit the official Historic Photographer of the Year website.
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